Article

God’s holiness is unmatched. He responds to sin not only with grace, but also with holy judgment. When we observe the nature of sin and punishment in the Old Testament, the prophets record that God treats sin harshly. Sin affects more than merely the perpetrator, it spills over into the community, especially the family. Thus, God speaks of visiting and punishing sins to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5, Numbers 14:18, Lamentations 5:7). Achan and his family’s punishment is one extraordinary example of God’s tenacity for purity, but it should not be considered as a normal …
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“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”—Joshua 24:14, 15
If we think of idolatry as referring only to worshipping …
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Sermon

Article

The present chapter readily divides into two sections. In verses 1 to 29 we have the account of the destruction of Ai. In verses 30 to 35 we read of the proclamation of the law, with the blessings for the obedient and the curses that would fall upon the disobedient.
When God’s people fail to act in accordance with His will, the first time they have to face some barrier to progress they find it far harder to overcome upon making a second effort. Had it not been for hidden sin in the camp, Israel would have overcome Ai very …
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Sermon

Article

Why Good Marriages Go Bad
I have witnessed many marriages I believed to be good, go bad—filled with rancor, immorality, divorce, and the like. What a far cry from the wedding day, when the bride and groom believed there were no difficulties they could not conquer with love — and they fully expected to live happily ever after!
In my observation, several root causes surface after marriage, some of which could have been anticipated before the “I do’s” were said. Love—or what passes for love—often blinds us to the realities of who a potential spouse really is. So what are …
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“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall mediate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”—Joshua 1:8
Most of us wish that God would work on us while we’re asleep so that we could wake to face the day with unwavering confidence and faith! We wish that good intentions, combined with attending church once a week, would bring about permanent changes in …
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Thoughts for the Quiet Hour - January 8
Take good heed therefore unto your souls. —Joshua 23:11 (Margin)
Gold cannot be used for currency as long as it is mixed with the quartz and rock in which it lies imbedded. So your soul is useless to God till taken out from sin and earthliness and selfishness, in which it lies buried. By the regenerating power of the Spirit you must be separated unto Christ, stamped with His image and superscription, and made into a divine currency, which shall bear His likeness among men. The Christian is, so to speak …
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